The death of Wg Cdr Namansh Syal of the Indian Air Force in a Tejas crash during an aerial display at the Dubai Air Show on Friday stirred an unusually warm response from Islamabad, where Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif chose solemnity over sabre rattling.
The Tejas fighter jet went down in a ball of fire during its performance on Friday, leaving the lone pilot unable to eject.
News of the tragedy rippled through aviation and military circles. Condolences floated across a fraught subcontinental divide, shaped not by geopolitics but by the fraternity of men who take to the skies.
“Pakistan Strategic Forum on the behalf of the whole nation offers sincere deep condolences to the Indian Air Force & to the family of the pilot of the Indian Air Force HAL LCA Tejas that crashed today at the Dubai Air Show 2025,” Asif said in an overnight message on X.
Pakistan Strategic Forum is an agency of defence analysts from Pakistan and allied nations' committees to provide tactical and military insights, according to the forum's description on its X account.
He noted that the crash claimed the pilot’s life and emphasised that Pakistan’s rivalry with India’s air force belongs to the skies only.
“Our rivalry belongs to the skies ONLY, & as per the teachings of Quran & Sunnah we do not celebrate any unfortunate incident,” he said, and ended the post with, “Over to the skies and beyond, RIP BRAVE HEART.”
His gesture came amidst a long period of strained ties between the neighbours following the conflict in May this year.
The Pakistan Strategic Forum in its separate message, called Wg Cdr Syal’s passing a loss to the entire aerospace community.
“Our rivalry belongs only to the skies, not at air shows where we stand together on common ground,” the Forum wrote. “We extend our heartfelt condolences on the tragic loss of Wg Cdr Namansh Syal in today’s Tejas crash at the Dubai Air Show. Our prayers are with his family and his squadron in this difficult hour.”
The rare moment of shared grief, if fleeting, offered a glimpse of a world where respect for courage and craft outlives even the sharpest hostilities.